Nose Pickin' and Adenoids . . .

At school Tuesday, I was singing a song with my class that involved hand motions pointing to different body parts. When we gently tapped our nose, I jokingly said, "and remember, at school we don't pick our noses!". A little girl smiled, looked like a deer in headlights, and said, "But sometimes I don't pick my nose at farm school."

On Wednesday, we were playing a version of "freeze dance" where you dance when the music is playing and freeze when it is off. I told the children that when the music stopped, we were going to lay down, pretend to sleep, and make snoring sounds. One little boy came over to me, "I can't really snore 'cause I don't have my tonsils or adenoids anymore."

These children may have been Violet and Colton . . .

~Leslie

PreK Lunch Conversation, Over Tuna Casserole and Grapes

Miles--"My family is very strong. Every day they get more stronger."
Matt--"My family is so strong, they can pull all these grapes (holds up a bunch of grapes from his plate) off at once."
Wacy--"My dad's job is to get money."
Catherine--"Miss Leslie, what's those brown things?" (points to mushrooms in the casserole)
Ashley--"I like the pasta, but I don't like the big mushrooms."
Matt--"Can I have more pasta?"
Cameron--"It'll make me cough if I eat this!" (holds up fork with a bite of casserole on it)
Caeden--"Can some one pass me some more--please? please? please? please? please? please? please? Hey, they're going to pass it tome me . . . (yells) not that one!"
Matt--"Catherine, I'm trying to tell you something. (Catherine covers her ears)
Miles--"Let's all cover our ears!"
Matt--"It's not fair, I'm telling you the truth, Miles."
Landon--"Why is it not nice for friends for talking?"
Leslie--"When someone is trying to talk to you, it is not nice to cover your ears."

Rabbits Need a Spoon, Too!

Two little guys were the last ones at school today and helped me feed the rabbits. We placed a carrot in the cage, added some alfalfa hay, filled the water bottle, and gave them a couple of pats. As I closed the cage, one little boy yelled "wait!", and ran to get something. He grabbed a yellow plastic spoon from one of our outside bins and gently placed it in the cage. "They'll need this to eat their food," he said. I couldn't argue with that!

Leslie

On Goodwill

A little boy named "Wil" attends our school, and he loves each and every one of his things. As part of a conversation about recycling, we discussed giving away excess "stuff" to people who need it or to Goodwill. Wil began to look very pale, very nervous, and he shouted out, "Well, I don't even know that 'Will'".

War by Leslie

Last night at dinner, my girls asked about war again. My husband and I have delicately explained "war" on several occasions when the children have asked. They aren't allowed to watch violent images on TV or in movies, so I would assume most of their notion of "war" is an image they have created in their minds. War, no matter how we carry on in our daily lives, does seep into even the lives of children. For my seven year old daughter, that was through a project that a friend presented yesterday at school. I don't want to completely shelter my children, but I don't want them to worry about things out of their control.



Wow--questions such as this can really take you back. Here's what my husband and I have shared with our children, maybe it will help you:



1. Sometimes people or countries fight when they can't reach a solution. It is always better to find a solution by talking with each other, just as you do with your friends and siblings.

2. You are safe. There is no war in our country right now.

3. Soldiers have an important job--to keep us safe. They also have to be away from their spouses and children for long periods of time. Imagine how much you would miss daddy or I if we had to be gone for six months or a year? We should be thankful that soldiers keep us safe and sacrifice time with their families for us.

4. (And, in response to my seven year old daughter's questions about babies and children getting hurt in wars, and adults crying) People get hurt in a war who aren't part of the war. It is a very sad thing, and when countries or people decide to fight in a war, they are also making a choice that affects innocent children, older people, and people who don't want to fight.



War . . . our country has been at war in Iraq since 3/20/03. No matter your views, I did reveal some of my feelings to my girls last night. I told them that I know mothers don't like war, ever. I don't think mothers, the people who worry about details like whether you chewed up your vitamin and have clean ears, can ever be OK with their kids being in a war. To all the mothers who have lost someone in the Iraq War, and on either side, I am sorry for your pain. I am selfishly sorry that I don't know if I could bare the pain that you have. I would have done anything to prevent "war" for your child.